South Carolina Police: 13-Year-Old Opened Fire On Suspected Burglars, Killing One

A 13-year-old boy armed with his mother’s handgun recently fought off two would-be home intruders, killing one in the process, police in Ladson, South Carolina, said.

The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office said the boy exchanged gunfire with two men around 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 10, reported The Post and Courier.

The boy was not injured.

“I’m speechless right now,” his mother told The Post and Courier. “Who knows how this would have turned out.”

Police told Fox Carolina the boy was home alone when he saw a man trying to break into his house.

ADVERTISEMENT

Thanks for watching!

“He saw a subject out back trying to get inside so he fired his mother's gun through the door and the subject reportedly fired back,” officials told Fox Carolina.

Police said the boy continued to fire as two men sped away from the home.

Neighbors told police they heard gunshots as they saw a small gray car pull away from the home.

According to a police affidavit obtained by The Post and Courier, 31-year-old Lamar Anthwan Brown was shot three times and then driven to a nearby hospital by Ira Bennett, 28. The affidavit states that the gray Chevy Sonic the men arrived in had bullet holes in it.

Bennett allegedly told officials that someone had shot at them while they were driving on the interstate.

ADVERTISEMENT

Thanks for watching!

ADVERTISEMENT

Thanks for watching!

Brown later died at Trident Medical Center of gunshot wounds.

The 13-year-old’s mother told The Post and Courier she had the gun in the house for protection but had never shown her son how to use it.

“I tell my kids that if anything ever happens to call 911, but I also tell them to protect themselves if they have to,” she said. “I never would have dreamed that this would have been a part of our day today.”

News outlets are not releasing the names of family members because of the boy’s age.

The mother said she was at work when the incident occurred and that her son, who attends an online public school, is usually home with other family members during the day, but happened to be alone that day.

Police reportedly found a .45 caliber handgun that did not belong to the boy’s family in the backyard of the home.

Bennett was arrested and has been charged with first-degree burglary and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.

The sheriff’s office investigation is ongoing, according to Fox Carolina.